Psalms 71:6

6 Upon you I have leaned from my birth; it was you who took me from my mother's womb. My praise is continually of you.

Psalms 71:6 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 71:6

By thee have I been holden up from the womb
Supported in being, upheld in life, and sustained with food and raiment, and followed with the mercies and blessings of life from thence to this present moment; which the psalmist takes notice of, as he does of what goes before and follows after, to encourage his faith and hope in God as to present deliverance;

thou art he that took me out of my mother's bowels;
(See Gill on Psalms 22:9); the Syriac version is, "thou art my hope from my mother's bowels"; the Arabic version, "thou art my helper"; and the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions, "thou art my protector"; the word is only used here, and in ( Psalms 90:10 ) ; and is there rendered "cut off"; the Lord was, as it were, his "cutter off" F20; that cut the navel string, and loosed him from his mother, and safely brought him into the world, and preserved him ever since: wherefore he adds,

my praise [shall be] continually of thee;
as the God of nature and providence; and also as the God of grace, who had blessed him both with temporal and spiritual blessings; and these being continued with him, he determines that God should be the subject of his praise always. The Targum is,

``in thy Word my praise is continually.''


FOOTNOTES:

F20 (yzwn) "excisor meus", Gejerus.

Psalms 71:6 In-Context

4 Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.
5 For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth.
6 Upon you I have leaned from my birth; it was you who took me from my mother's womb. My praise is continually of you.
7 I have been like a portent to many, but you are my strong refuge.
8 My mouth is filled with your praise, and with your glory all day long.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.